Seychelles and UNDP sign three new environmental projects

Seychelles Nation 31. 10. 14- The Government of Seychelles and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) yesterday afternoon signed agreements for three new environmental projects.

The signing ceremony took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The agreements were signed by the United Nations (UN) resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative for Mauritius and Seychelles, Simon Springett, the principal secretary for Environment and Energy, Wills Agricole, and the ministry's special adviser, Didier Dogley, in the presence of the local UNDP representative Roland Alcindor.

The agreements cover the financing of three new environmental projects which have been named as follows: A Resource Efficiency Project, an Adaptation Project and an Outer Island Project. They will respectively promote and up-scale climate-resilient and resource-efficient technologies, help ecosystem based adaptation to climate change and expand and strengthen the protected areas of the outer islands.

The projects are funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and together are worth more than US $10 million. They will be implemented by the GOS (Government of Seychelles)-UNDP-GEF Programme Coordination Unit.

Mr Agricole said the agreements represent an important commitment for the future Seychelles is willing to create for itself as a small island developing state, despite all the challenges it has to face as a country.

He added that by signing the agreements, Seychelles is showing to the world that it is committed to reaching a comprehensible agreement on climate change at the Paris summit in 2015.

"The time for action is now", Mr Agricole stressed.

He thanked UNDP for contributing in environment management in Seychelles and for helping in combating climate change.

On his part, Mr Springett said the signing of the agreements is a further commitment on behalf of UNDP to helping the Seychelles government in its priorities.

He looks forward to stronger collaboration between his organisation and Seychelles in the future.